What Makes the Ford Fiesta the Ultimate First Car?

When it comes to picking your first car, choices are actually rather limited, mainly because insurance prices make the vast majority of vehicles prohibitively expensive. There are probably three or four that you’ve got in mind, and there’s a very good chance one of them is the Ford Fiesta. If it isn’t, then it really should be. The Fiesta is one of the UK’s most popular cars ever, with 2014 seeing extremely high sales for the model.

Excellent Road Manners

Ford’s small cars have always been renowned for having excellent driving dynamics, with the Focus in particular being regarded as one of the very best driving cars in its class. The Fiesta of course is no different, with solid road holding, tight cornering, and suspension that you wouldn’t expect from a car with such a short wheelbase. While the ST is very likely to be out of reach for the first time driver, most of the range, at least for the last decade or so, has had peppy engines that shouldn’t feel sluggish unless the car is fully laden. Your first car is always special, but you’ll love it even more if driving is enjoyable.

Balancing Costs

As a mid-range manufacturer, Ford offers a good balance of reliability and affordable parts, which is great when you’re just starting out. You’re unlikely to have any major issues with a car that has good service history, and if something does break, it shouldn’t cost the earth to get it fixed. Parts are also readily available, and most garages will have experience with the car, so you shouldn’t have any problems getting things sorted.

Frugal Fiesta

Fuel economy is very good across the range, owing to the car’s lightweight body. Even the larger 1.6 diesels are good. The 1.25 found in older models is the pick of the bunch if you’re not buying something new-ish, as it’s very economical, but still has enough about it to ensure that driving doesn’t become a bore.

So whether you’re going to be buying a ten year old workhorse for a few hundred, or you’re lucky enough to be purchasing a brand new seventh generation model from Orangewheels, you can be sure that you’re making a good choice. If you want your first car to be reasonable reliable, frugal and cheap to repair, but you want to enjoy driving, then it’s hard to look past the little Ford.